The Study
Effect of low sodium and high potassium diet on lowering blood pressure and cardiovascular events
This study doesn't do its own experiments — it reads lots of other studies and says, 'Most of them show that eating less salt and more bananas might help lower blood pressure.' But it can't say for sure that salt causes high blood pressure — just that they often go together.
Analysis score
Maximum 5 for a narrative review.
Where the score came from
Eating less salt and more potassium-rich foods helps lower blood pressure and prevents strokes, especially in older people or those with high blood pressure.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 51 / 100
Quality score
Based on clinical experience or non-systematic literature reviews. The lowest level of evidence as they are most susceptible to bias and personal perspective.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — these changes can prevent strokes and save lives in high-risk groups like older adults with hypertension.
- 2Cutting salt lowers BP by 5.7 mmHg systolic; adding 1g potassium lowers stroke risk by 11%; swapping regular salt for a 75% sodium/25% potassium mix cuts stroke risk by 13% and death by 12%.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Clinical Hypertension
Year
2024
Authors
B. Kim, Mi-Yeon Yu, Jinho Shin
Related Content
Claims (4)
If you eat a little more potassium-rich food each day—like bananas or spinach—you might lower your risk of stroke and reduce your blood pressure a bit, even if you don’t change how much salt you eat.
Eating less salt and more potassium together lowers blood pressure better than just cutting salt or just adding potassium alone—and that’s why the DASH diet works so well.
If you have high blood pressure and eat less salt—cutting from about 4.6 grams down to 1.5–2.4 grams a day—your blood pressure will likely go down a bit, especially if you're older, Black, or have kidney disease or metabolic syndrome.
When you eat almost no salt, your body may overwork a system that controls blood pressure, making your blood vessels tighter and raising your risk of heart problems.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.